General description:
In the days of the Sengoku Saga one of the dominating meta decks was Romanoff Sign which consisted in the combo between Romanoff the 1st, Lord of the Demonic Eye and Inferno Sign. Yes, one of the leading Knights of the Demonic Eye clan, Romanoff the 1st, was a powerful creature back then game play wise.

Sadly due to the restriction of Inferno Sign, the Romanoff Sign combo decks were weakened down until they got forgotten over time as the game advanced.
However all was not lost for the Reanimator fans. With the addition of DMX-04, Romanoff the 1st got revived as a Hunter after being destroyed by the Aliens. Now he has become Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff!

"I've come back to give those Alien scums that lacerated me a well-deserved shot in the face!" -Darkness GUY, Zero Romanoff

The Hunter version of Romanoff the 1st is exactly the same as its predecessor, the only difference being the fact that the Knight race had been replaced with the Hunter race. Both cards cost 7, have 8000 power, double breaker, put a darkness card in the grave when they're put in the battle zone and both cast a darkness spell with cost 6 or less from the graveyard when attacking. But what makes Zero Romanoff better than Romanoff the 1st is the fact that Hunters nowadays have much more support than Knights.

Uses:
Essentially Zero Romanoff has two basic uses. First one is managing to snatch a card from the deck and toss it in the graveyard, this privilege mostly being restricted due to the banning of cards such as Slash Charger or Future Slash.
Its second and more important use is that of casting spells as there are a large variety of darkness spells with cost 6 or less that are worth using to destroy creatures, discard the opponent or reanimate your own creatures. For fun, one could try to combine Zero Romanoff with Upheaval and see what the result will lead to.

Strategies and game play:
The main reason Zero Romanoff was created was the attempt of reviving the Romanoff Sign combo. Thus Miracle Re Born was created which also lead to a new deck type known as Romanoff Reborn.

Miracle Re Born is the new version of Inferno Sign. Stripped of its shield trigger ability and restricted to Hunters, this spell doesn't seem that promising first, but when combined with Zero Romanoff, it can cause disasters for the opponent.

The main idea in Romanoff Reborn decks is to cast Miracle Re Born multiple times via the effect of Zero Romanoff in order to spam Hunters in the battle zone. This will lead to an effective beatdown.

"The Gates of Hell await your death!" -Kokujo Kyoshiro

Another good reanimating spell for Zero Romanoff to cast is Death Gate since not only does it destroy one of your opponent's creatures but it also revives one of your creatures, albeit with a lower cost. So unless you manage to destroy a big Angel Command such as Syrius in order to get one of your bigger Hunters out, you will only bring out weenies.

Hyperspatial Revive Hole, Hyperspatial Vice Hole, Hyperspatial Emperor Hole, Hyperspatial Raiden Hole and Hyperspatial Gotsusan Hole all have great synergy with Zero Romanoff and they can also bring out big bad psychics such as Black Ganveet, Temporal Soldier for field control, Volg Thunder for milling your opponent or supporting your own graveyard for Zero Romanoff, Victorious Meteor Kaiser for stalling your opponent or Victorious Gaial Kaiser for rushing him.

Combos with other cards:

Romanoff Reborn

In order for one to use the Romanoff Reborn combo, they must prepare themselves. For that, the following steps have to be followed:

1 Get cards into the graveyard
You do not have to worry about this one, as there are plenty of cards that will help you fill your grave, some examples being the following:

Dandy Eggplant aids you to look for a card in your deck and put it in your mana zone and THEN put a card from your mana zone to your graveyard. Sadly, the likes of Dandy Eggplant and Colorful Dance have been restricted to 1 but they are still useful. One could also try their luck with Geo Eggplant but personally I don't trust that card yet as I view it more fitting in a Wild Veggie deck.

If used for self-mill, Volg Thunder can guarantee the arrival of two creatures in the graveyard and they could also go there with a bunch of spells as well. ;) Stuff like Bone Dance Charger and Primal Scream are also good for supplying your graveyard with fresh cards from the top of your deck.

"Jealousy is the most corrupting emotion!" -Joan of Arc, Goddess of Ruin

This one is a rather interesting idea: discard one of your cards to make your opponent discard two. Who says that the card you discard can't help Zero Romanoff, right?

2 What cards go into the graveyard?
One of the biggest problems in a Romanoff Reborn deck is choosing which will be the bullets for Zero Romanoff's gun known as Miracle Re Born. In other words, besides Zero Romanoff the problem of picking the right Hunters for revival also occurs. Personally, here are some of my choices:

Before you ask, yes Miracle Re born affects evolution Hunters too, so you can get Great Hercules out, attack with him and spam more Hunters from the mana zone as well!

"It's surfin' time on the Naruto Spiraaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!" -Aqua Naruto Surfer

The Hunter version of Aqua Sniper has the biggest benefit of its cost dropping to 7 and thus making it fitting for Miracle Re Born. With this guy's bouncing effect you can either get rid of two of your opponent's creatures or just bounce one of their creatures and your Aqua Naruto Surfer back to annoy them more. Pretty effective, I daresay!

"Attention all psychics, I will decimate all of you and become the greatest and most powerful Demon Command!" -Liger Blade, Fierce Tiger

Probably one of the most effective cards to wipe off fields is Liger Blade. Not only does it take care of small rushing weenies but it also destroys psychic creatures right before your opponent can link them.

"Say hello to my little friend!" -Raging Apache Lizard

Last but certainly not least is Raging Apache Lizard whose effect can bring out the one and only...

"I am his little friend!" -Gaial Kaiser

Gaial Kaiser! One of the best psychic creatures in beatdown decks. While not being able to cast Hyperspatial Shooting Hole, Zero Romanoff can either revive a Raging Apache Lizard or cast Hyperspatial Gotsusan Hole in order to bring out this beast.

3 How to speed up things?
A problem that Zero Romanoff and its predecessor had is the fact that they suffer of summoning sickness and thus are rendered as targets to diverse removal cards. But that can be avoided if you manage to begin your beat down early and start attacking with your Romanoff once it enters the battle zone. To do that, one needs to turn him into a speed attacker. The following cards serve best at doing that:

"All Hunters attack!" -Shooting Exedrive

"With me the Dragons are free to move faster and faster!" -Super Go On Pippi

"I may not be able to see but I will still aid my Dragons in our fight!" -Dragonfriend Kachua

These three cards: Galaxy Falcon, Counterattack Fortress, Super Go On Pippi and Dragonfriend Kachua can all make your Zero Romanoff a speed attacker. Probably Kachua is more interesting out of them all as she can also destroy your Zero Romanoff and thus could either revive a Necrodragon Guljeneraid or give you the opportunity of casting another Miracle Re Born and reviving your Romanoff the next turn.

Zombie Dragon side

Leaving aside the Romanoff Reborn combo, the new saga of Episode 2 has brought more racial support for Zombie Dragons than ever before. This led to a certain combo in which Zero Romanoff works greatly. It all starts with the following creature:

When this beauty attacks, the duelists play Hardcore Judge and if its owner wins, they can put a non-evolution Zombie Dragon in the battle zone. But don't worry if you lose Hardcore Judge, for this card is here to help!

"Our power is not lost, so keep attacking!" -Necrodragon Danchigai Fankigai

Dragon Bone, Secret Wicked Dragon has Attack Chance: Zombie Dragon which means that when one of your Zombie Dragons attacks, you may cast it and by its effect put a non-evolution Zombie Dragon from the graveyard into the battle zone. In other words: win Hardcore Judge and get two non-evolution Zombie Dragons out, lose Hardcore Judge and get just one.
Now the question is: what Zombie Dragons should be revived? Well, one option is Zero Romanoff since he can attack and cast a darkness spell from your graveyard AND maybe another Dragon Bone, Secret Wicked Dragon from your hand. Besides this, another great option is this:

"It is time to revive the Reaper's army!" -Babelginus, Demonic Dragon

Babelginus, Demonic Dragon has infinite revival possibilities and is clearly one of the best reanimator cards. Now one will wonder what should they revive with Babelginus' effect? Well there are many options, but since he can bring out bigger guys, I believe that the best choice is:

"With my power I will bring our side the Ultimate Victory!" -Victory Rush Ogremaru "Head"

This card is the pure definition of whoopass. If one can bring it out quickly through the Zombie Dragon combo that I mentioned below, then the opponent is basically screwed, for Victory Rush can guarantee you extra turns if you manage to win Hardcore Judge.

Of course, Queen Alcadeias,the other spell banning trolls from the Alcadeias family or even the annoying Spell Del Fin. If your opponent has them out, you can kiss your darkness spells and Romanoff Reborn strategy good bye.

But don't fear, for the awesomeness of Zero Romanoff is that he can also cast multicolored darkness spells, which means that the threat of Queen Alcadeias can go away! But the other members of the Alcadeias family... Let's forget about them on focus on what can destroy Queen, shall we?

Yes, Persistent Prison of Gaia and Super Infernal Gate Smash can guarantee the bouncing, discarding or destroying of Queen Alcadeias and thus you've gotten rid of one spell banner Great, five left >.>

"I will give spell casters the greatest horror of their lives!" -Batou Shoulder, Shadow of Fiction

Oh yes, Batou Shoulder can be annoying only as one, but if two are on the field and your graveyard is filled with spells, then you better pray that you can somehow get Zero Romanoff out fast in the battle zone so he could let you cast spells for free. But wait, there is more...

Lost Mind Torture is the perfect trolling spell for spell based decks. Not only does it discard all the spells from your hand that could somehow help you get Zero Romanoff out faster, but it also lets your opponent see what you've got in your hand.
To add insult to the injury, if Lost Mind Torture is paired with Batou Shoulder then you can kiss good bye to your spell casting unless you can somehow cast them for free.

"As long as my appetite is huge, time will keep slowing down!" -Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation

Continuing with the annoying little Ghosts next we have Time Tripper, Shadow of Stagnation which if gotten out by turn 3 can slow you down significantly from being able to cast Miracle Re Born or anything else to get out Zero Romanoff. Sure, you might be able to destroy him if you are lucky to get something that can counter it, but if the opponent does its equivalent: Faerie Gift + Geo Crashing Miranda/Come On Pippi + Victorious Meteor Kaiser, then I wish you good luck on trying to get rid of that mana tapping Dragon...

"I never get tired of devouring mana!" -Uberdragon Bajula

Mana burners such as Uberdragon Bajula and co. can burn your mana and thus can slow you down from casting your desired spells and getting your desired Hunters out.

There's also this little bugger that forces you to destroy creatures once you've cast a spell or put a creature in the battle zone without paying its cost. This can prove to be a small problem but luckily its power is low so you can get rid of it quickly.

"You shall not pass!" -Gandalf... err, I mean Nariel, the Oracle

Even restricted to 1, Nariel is still annoying since he won't allow Zero Romanoff or ANY of your creatures with power 3000 or more to attack, meaning that you will have to try and remove him while your opponent stalls for time.

"Now why would you even THINK of cheating the system, huh?" - Mestapo, the Patroller

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you a truly trolling card: Mestapo, the Patroller! Not only does it not allow you to search your decks and cancels the effect of Zero Romanoff when he is put in the battle zone, but the thing also goes back to the opponent's hand when destroyed, so you'll have to endure the little bugger for a long time.

"Time to reshape the world after my own will!" -Cyber N World

This card is the main reason why Romanoff Reborn decks could not enter the competitive environment of Episode 1 as Cyber N World's effect of shuffling back the graveyard in the deck ruins the Reanimator strategy. Sure, you might have chances of getting back more cards in the graveyard and reviving them with Miracle Re Born, but a single Cyber N World is already a huge hit to a once full graveyard.

Besides that there are also the classic Terror Pit, Natural Snare, Aqua Surfer, yada yada, but they aren't that big of an issue as Miracle Re Born always guarantees a return of your Hunters.

Strengths/Pros:
*Excellent attacker
*Aids you in casting spells
*Has support from the Hunter race

Weaknesses/Cons:
*Can be easily destroyed if it is not made a speed attacker
*If you cannot cast darkness spells then he is rendered as a useless beatstick
*Relies on a well built graveyard

Variations:
So far its only version is the foil one from DMX-04.

Artwork and aesthetics:
I have to say that Blankas did a great job on depicting the Hunter version of Romanoff. I like the purple color of the armor, the yellow guns and the X scar on its chest. However I am still having trouble realizing how do the head and face look like frontally.

Overall rating:
Since it is a good remake of a great classic, I give Zero Romanoff a 9 out of 10! He is a great attacker, a great spell caster and can guarantee a 1 turn finish! Its only down point is the fact that it needs a specific Hunter deck built around him. But besides that, I strongly recommend this card!
NOTE: For further reference you can check out my Romanoff Reborn deck: http://www.tradecardsonline.com/im/showDeck/deck_id/62150

Modified on June 14, 2013 03:11 am

Rating

Current score for this Card Review, based on 16 votes:

4.94

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Please rate the review's quality of information (not the card), and do it only after carefully reading it. Votes for any other, biased reason are not acceptable.

First of all, please use pictures of similar size, and if not, aligning them properly will give the audience a better time reading through it.

And Magic Shot should be Magic Bullet for your info, but well, it was done by Ryoma, so I would shut up about that.

Second of all, Hunter's support is not as great of that of the Knights Mainly because Magic Shot (Bullet) exists, and Zero Romanoff can never be as effective with those as Romanoff the 1st. Other than Miracle Re Born, there is no spell, I repeat, no Hunter restricted spells that can rival that of the Knight Race spells, and that along, declares the defeat of Zero at the hands of the 1st.

And two basic uses of Zero Romanoff? Snatching a card? It is not a use. It is a required effect to use it with the plethora of spells, or else it will be never as marvelous as it could be (effective). Upheaval with Romanoff can only be done when you have lead in Hand size and slighty less Mana pool. If you cast it wrongly, ur opponent would surely turn the table and u will be crying for the rest of your life.

And yes, Miracle Reborn works well only with Speed Attacking. Other wise, you just made sitting ducks of your Zero Romanoffs, which with 8000 power, will be quite easily killed.

Then you didn't mention Volg as a means to restore your grave. It is that hard to use Volg? No siree, it is not hard. It can give you a huge number of spells + creatures you need, but no, u don't mention that. Then there is things like Jealousy Bell, again, no mention. How about Drill Squall Mana destruction? Again, no mention. Grave combos certainly are not restricted to those few cards you mention. Oh, by the way, Emergency Typhoon is crying.

Onto your bullets. No mention of Apache? REALLY? It is like the pinnacle of creature spammage, where you can get insane amounts of creatures out. Thunder Blade? Again, no mention...Liger Blade for mass destruction, Thunder for percision hit. Duh... Why Bolbalzak Ex? It is the worse use of it. I mean your Mana can't be used rather after you declare attack. Why not just stick with your smaller but equally hard hitting folks and leave this beast RESTING in peace?

As for Speed attacking, Falcon and Super Go On is definitely the best of choices, and Kachua does well, but what of others? No mention of EMK? No creatures/Spells that gives speed attackers in the duration of its existence? Heck you can even go saint castle X wiz for the fun of it, but no... >.>

And here is the problem. You only introduced one spell...1 spell only? The heck? The beauty of Romanoffs back when they were awesome where that they can choose from a range of spells and spam them like there are no tomorow. Here, you made it that Romanoff could only cast 1 spell and 1 spell only, Miracle Re Born. Really, people are sick of it. If Romanoff is just simply a Danchi Funky Guy, then we have no use for it right? Hell, even in front of Queen Alcadias you can spam Per. Prison of Gaia. Miracle Reborn is just a lame excuse for a card.